Tel Aviv was still tense today following the second night of rioting by British police, during which at least 40 persons were injured, several of them so seriously that they required hospitalization.
Last night’s outbreaks, which were on a wider scale than those of the previous evening, began when members of the Mobile Police Force, all of whom are Britons, suddenly swept into the city, assaulting passers-by at random, shooting into houses, raiding cafes, theatres, hotels and clubs and overturning taxicabs. They destroyed furniture, fixtures and anything else that they encountered. The rioting halted only after the belated arrival of military police.
Even Jewish members of the Tel Aviv police force were not spared. Several were shot at and beaten, resulting in an order confining them to their stations. Mayor Israel Rokach immediately protested to the British civil authorities who promised to arrest the rioters and prevent further incidents.
A Jewish detective was shot dead this morning while standing in a bus queue on a main street of the city. His assailants, who escaped, are reported to have taken careful aim at their victim, M. Ben. Bezalel, after scattering the queue. However, a man who was standing next to him was slightly wounded in the leg. Ben Bezalel is understood to have been a police expert on the activities of the Jewish extremists.
An official communique issued tonight confirms that considerable damage was caused by the rioters and admits 32 cases of assault, five of which required hospitalization. It says that a number of cars were stolen, three of which were later discovered abandoned and undamaged, while three others were overturned. The communique says that an investigation is going on and “appropriate steps” will be taken against those responsible for the outbreaks.
The inquiry commission consisting of representatives of the High Commissioner and military and civil authorities has already been dispatched to Sarona, scene of the blasting of a jeep on Sunday night, which was the incident which set off the riots. The commission will probe both the explosion and the rioting.
HAGANAH WARNS PALESTINE JEWS WILL RESIST “BRITISH POGROMISTS”
The Haganah radio today warned the authorities that “Palestine Jews will not allow themselves to be delivered into the hands of British pogromists. The Jews do not see any enemy in every British soldier and policeman who might have attacked Palestine Jews,” the broadcast said, “nor do they countenance terror, considering terrorists enemies of their land, but they will not bend their back to British pogromists sowing terror through the streets of a Jewish city. We warn the authorities that if
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
